Ship catches fire in Strait of Hormuz as US-Iran conflict escalates

Dubai: A ship caught fire early Monday in the Strait of Hormuz near the coastline of Oman, the British military said.

The British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center issued a warning about the fire, saying it was unclear what sparked the blaze.

Also Read: Why the Strait of Hormuz is losing importance


The US military has been encouraging ships to use a route near Oman to transit the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has responded with attacks targeting those vessels, insisting it must have control over the crucial waterway through which a fifth of all oil and natural gas traded once passed in peacetime.

The United States began a new round of airstrikes early Monday targeting Iran after announcing the death of another American service member, and Iran fired missiles toward Jordan that risked widening the conflict into neighboring Israel.

Step by step, the US and Iran have inched closer to all-out war as last month's interim deal meant to permanently end the fighting has crumbled and shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has largely stalled. Both sides have targeted civilian infrastructure relied on by millions of people.

The US military said the service member was killed in Iraq on Saturday during the "controlled detonation" of a downed Iranian drone.

Earlier, the military said its strikes targeted Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard to retaliate for Friday's killing of troops in Jordan. One service member was missing after that attack, and the military's new statement said "unidentified remains" were found Sunday and were being examined. Since the war began, 17 U.S. service members have been killed.

Also Read: US and Iran exchange strikes as they struggle over Strait of Hormuz

The renewed exchanges of fire, now in their second week, have seen the U.S. target bridges and electrical facilities in Iran.

The US military's Central Command announced a new round of strikes early Monday, now into their ninth straight night.

"The strikes will continue degrading Iranian military capabilities used to attack commercial vessels and civilian mariners transiting the Strait of Hormuz," Central Command said in a statement.

Tehran has retaliated by hitting U.S.-allied countries throughout the Middle East.

Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait again activated air defenses for incoming Iranian drones and missiles. Israel warned that missiles launched toward neighboring Jordan could cause fire to spill over into Israeli territory for the first time in weeks.

Iran says a nuclear site under construction was hit

Footage released Sunday by the U.S. military appeared to show strikes carried out by fighter jets and by Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from the sea. One target site appeared to be in a valley of a mountainous region. The Guard often has missile bases and other military equipment tucked into mountain ranges.

Iran's atomic energy agency said U.S. strikes targeted the construction site of a planned nuclear power plant in the southwest, state television reported.

Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC of the Darkhovin nuclear plant site showed earth clearing but little construction as of July 9. Iran did not previously announce it as being targeted.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said the site, in the "very early stages of construction," contained no nuclear material when the U.N. watchdog last visited.

Jordan and nearly every Gulf Arab state have been targeted

Jordan's military said it shot down several Iranian missiles. The country hosts major U.S. bases and relies on U.S. air-defense systems. The missiles did not cause casualties or damage, according to Jordan's military.

Jordan later summoned Iran's charge d'affaires to protest, state-run television reported.

Israel's military said Iranian missiles launched toward the Jordanian port city of Aqaba just across the border could spill over, warning Israelis to expect the first air-raid sirens in weeks.

Eilat, the Israeli city that neighbors Aqaba, cited security officials as saying two interceptors were launched from its outskirts to prevent the fall of debris.

During the latest fighting, Iran has focused attacks on U.S.-allied Arab states rather than Israel, which launched the war with the U.S. on Feb. 28. "We are prepared to immediately resume combat," the Israeli military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, said.

Kuwait said one of its power and water desalination plants was attacked for the second time in two days, causing fires. Its Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy said the power grid remains stable. In Kuwait, about 90% of drinking water comes from desalination.

The secretary-general of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, Jasem Mohamed al-Budaiwi, has accused Iran of war crimes for strikes on infrastructure and civilian facilities.

International humanitarian law generally protects civilian infrastructure such as bridges and power plants from attack, but such sites can lose protections if used for military purposes. In such cases, attacks must be proportionate and minimize civilian harm.